Sleep Over

Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

“Becca, can I sleep with you?” James whispered into the darkness of his sister’s room.

“James! You woke me up. Go back to your bed,” Rebecca told her little brother.

“Pleeeeeeeease? I heard a noise, and I’m scared,” he told her. She could hear the fear in his voice.

“Why don’t you see if you can sleep with Mom and Dad?” she asked him.

“I already did. They told me to go back to bed. But I’m scared, Becca! Please let me sleep with you.”

Rebecca remembered something she’d heard in church a few weeks ago. Sleepily, she clicked on her lamp and reached for her Bible. “Come here,” she said, and the young boy practically jumped onto her bed.

“Remember the story of Joshua? He was afraid to lead his people into the Promised Land because the people who lived there were giants. But God told Joshua he didn’t have to be afraid.” She opened her Bible to the book of Joshua.

“Here it is,” she showed him. “See, God told Joshua to be courageous, and that He would never leave him, no matter what.”

James smiled and snuggled close, as if for a bedtime story.

“James, you don’t have to be afraid in your room. God will be with you just like He was with Joshua.”

“I know. I feel better already. Thanks, Becca,” James said with a yawn. Before her eyes, her little brother fell sound asleep, taking up more than his share of the bed.

Rebecca chuckled, reached over her little brother, and turned off the lamp. Maybe he could be courageous tomorrow. Tonight, it looked like he was staying right where he was.

Doing it Right

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Rebecca slapped her paper on the kitchen counter and said, “Done! See you later!”

She was almost out the door when her mother called, “Whoa! Hold it just a minute there.”

So close! thought Rebecca as she retraced her steps to the kitchen. “Yes, ma’am?”

Her mother peered at her over the wrinkled notebook page. “Is this your best work?” she asked.

“Well . . .” Rebecca looked at her watch. She was supposed to meet Megan at the corner in three minutes.

“I see four mispelled words, five punctuation mistakes, and I can barely read some of it because you’ve doodled all over the page,” her mother continued.

“Uhm . . . I’m sorry. I promise I’ll fix it as soon as I get back.” Rebecca turned to go, even though she knew better.

“Not so fast. You will stay right here and do this assignment over. I want you to take pride in your work! What if your teacher decided to hang this on the bulletin board. How would you feel?”

Rebecca sighed and looked at her feet. “Embarrassed,” she mumbled.

“The Bible tells us we should do everything as if we are doing it for God. That means we should do our best, always.”

“But Mom, Megan is waiting for me outside! Please, can I do it later?”

Mrs. Smith looked at her daughter thoughtfully. “Go get Megan and invite her inside. She can wait while you do your work. Or you can meet her later. But you’re not going anywhere until this is done right.”

Rebecca gave a heavy sigh. “Yes, ma’am.” Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Megan.

“I thought we were supposed to -” Megan stopped midsentence as Mrs. Smith stepped behind her daughter.

“Rebecca has something she needs to do, but you’re welcome to stay while she finishes,” the woman offered.

For the next half hour, the girls drank milk and ate cookies as Rebecca re-did her assignment. Megan even helped her some. Finally, Rebecca laid the crisp, neat paper on the counter, and Mrs. Smith told them goodbye.

As they were leaving, Rebecca said, “Boy, did I learn my lesson. Next time, it will be easier just to do something right the first time!”